


All I Want for Christmas...

by LadyPterosaur



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Babybones, Child Sans, Christmas Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Homelessness, Hypothermia, Unrelated Sans and Papyrus, adult papyrus, mild sickness, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-11 21:30:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9031262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyPterosaur/pseuds/LadyPterosaur
Summary: One bitter cold day Papyrus befriends a little babybones named Sans.  
Sans was only seven years old and yet he had been forced to live on his own and fend for himself.  Forced to grow up, forced to lock away his inner child in order to survive.
But Papyrus was determined to change all that.  Come tomorrow morning when he went to have their daily meeting, he'd convince Sans to make this house his home.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Take six at trying to get this stupid thing to upload...

Papyrus traversed about his house in a hurry, making sure everything was ready and in place. Tomorrow was a special day and he was determined to make it perfect. So he made sure to double and even triple check his handiwork. The decorations were ready, the tree was up and sparkling with bright lights, the presents laid out and wrapped up in shining blue, green and red.

Of course all that paled in comparison to the surprise down the hall, hidden behind a door adorned with a bright red bow.

The tall skeleton squealed in delight, tomorrow was Christmas Eve. But tomorrow was also the day he was going to try to convince Sans, a babybones whom he had befriended, to come live with him. To make Papyrus's home his home as well.

Hopefully this time he will say yes...

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It had been a few weeks since they had first met. It had been a bitter cold November evening as Papyrus went about some early holiday shopping that the tall skeleton had first glanced him. The small monster in old raggedy clothing, face pressed up against the glass window display of a local shop. His eyes big with wonder as he looked at the elaborately decorated tree that had already been put up.

It didn't last though. As Papyrus watched a human man came out of the shop, glaring harshly at the babybones. Telling him to scram.

The little monster startled, looked first at the man before noticing a few others looking his way. He retreated into his dirty old coat, seeming to curl in on himself slightly at the sudden attention on him, before bolting into a nearby alleyway.

Papyrus had been appalled at the whole affair. At the shop owner for yelling at such a young child. At the humans and monsters walking by who just shrugged off the incident and didn't bother to see if the little skeleton was okay. The holidays were suppose to be a time of love and kindness and yet nobody seemed to care, well nobody but one red scarf wearing monster.

In a few quick strides Papyrus found himself at the entrance of the alleyway the little one had disappeared into. It was heavily shadowed in the fading light and was full of garbage cans and mounds of foul smelling refuse.

The tall skeleton couldn't help but scrunch up his nasal bone in disgust, until he steeled himself and strode forward. Papyrus would not let his sensitivities get in the way, he was on a mission.

But as he went farther and farther back, he was dismayed at not seeing the small child anywhere. Eventually reaching the point where the alley connected to a second one that ran behind the row of businesses. Looking left and then right Papyrus at first saw nothing but trash cans, dumpsters and piles garbage. But then a flash of blue caught his attention over by a stack of cardboard boxes.

"Hello?" He tentatively called out at the movements.

Papyrus was only met with the sounds of shuffling, the cardboard box moving slightly before it stilled.

Quietly and carefully the tall monster walked over to the box, stopping a few feet in front of it. The cardboard box was not all that big and had a square hole torn into the front of it almost like a door, kneeling down Papyrus peeked inside and was greeted by two bright white eye-lights peering back.

"Hello there." Papyrus tried again, keeping his voice soft as he gave a small wave.

The child on the other hand didn't seem to know what to do as they backed up into the corner of their little hiding space. Arms wrapped around their knees as they pulled their legs against their chest.

Papyrus gave a little sigh before reluctantly sitting down on the dirty ground and crossing his legs in front of him. "I saw what happened and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Still the child refused to respond, but had a more confused and curious expression now.

Not getting anywhere Papyrus decided he needed to switch tactics. Kids liked jokes right? He knew right away he was gonna regret this later and was already cringing at the words before they even left his mouth. "You looked like that man really... rattled your bones. Tibia honest I came to check on you. To make sure you were not... bonely back here."

That did the trick and the dam burst, the child's hands attempting to cover their mouth as they smiled and giggled.

Papyrus beamed at the response, taking the opportunity he placed a hand on his chest "By the way my name is the Great Papyrus. What's yours?"

The little skeleton fidgeted slightly, eye-lights looking down. At first Papyrus thought he was still going to keep quite but then...

"Sans..." came the quite reply. "I'm Sans."

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Papyrus gave a soft smile at the memory. He had asked Sans right then and there if he'd like to come home with him but much to his dismay Sans had said no. That was okay. Papyrus understood that he needed to gain the small skeletons trust, to prove to him that he meant the things he said.

So every day after that Papyrus had returned to the alleyway. He brought things like food so Sans wouldn't go hungry. A scarf and a blanket to keep him warm on the ever increasingly cold winter nights.

Each time the tall skeleton returned the little monster would open up more and more to him. On some days they would just sit in the alleyway and talk for hours.

Papyrus would tell him about his job and friends and hobby for cooking. In return Papyrus had learned that Sans really did love telling jokes and he had opened the metaphorical flood gates during their first meeting. (Papyrus, god bless, tried his damnedest not to groan at the increasingly awful puns) He also learned that Sans had a deep passion for the night sky and stars, even for such a young monster. How he wished he could learn more but he had not been able to find many books on the subject in the trash.

The smile on his face faltered slightly at that thought. Sans was only seven years old and yet he had been forced to live on his own and fend for himself. Forced to grow up, forced to lock away his inner child in order to survive.

But... Papyrus was determined to change all that. Come tomorrow morning when he went to have their daily meeting, he'd convince Sans to make this house his home.

  
+-+-+-+

When morning came, Papyrus was up bright and early with the dawn. He had not gotten much sleep at all, to giddy with anticipation and pent up energy.

Getting ready for the big day the lanky skeleton began his morning routine. Straightening his bed and getting dressed but as he was about to make his way out the door, he took notice of the snow clinging to his window.

Curious Papyrus pulled back his curtains and was at first delighted at the sight of pure white that greeted his eye sockets. After all who wouldn't want a white Christmas. Only for realization to dawn on him moments later. The trees where all covered in a layer of ice, likely from freezing rain that had later turned to a thick snowfall sometime during the night. There was a good two feet of snow covering everything.

Sans was out in this. Protected by nothing more then a blanket and a flimsy cardboard box.

Immediately Papyrus began scrambling about his room. Pulling on his thickest pair of pants, a heavy sweater and coat, along with his boots, gloves and scarf. He'd need all the protection from the weather he could get, there was no way the roads were gonna be clear this early in the morning. He'd have to walk all the way to the shopping district.

He was a skeleton on a mission!

Stepping outside into the bitter biting cold, Papyrus didn't waste any time making his way downtown and out of the suburbs. The thick snow doing its best to hinder his progress, even with his long legs, as almost nowhere had the snow been shoveled out of the way. To early for most to even know it had come in the night.

It took over an hour but finally Papyrus had managed to reach his destination. Before him laid the shopping district, dark and devoid of life. It was almost eerie with the lack of any other people or monsters around.

Trudging onward the tall skeleton entered the familiar alleyway, somewhat grateful that the snow here wasn't as high. It was most likely partially blocked by the buildings around it. Even so as he turned the corner behind the shops, he could barely make out the shape of the cardboard box buried under a sea of white. If he didn't already know it was there he would have missed it completely.

"Sans?" Papyrus called out as he quickly made his way over.

Not getting a response, Papyrus knelt down and began to dig out the snow blocking the front 'entrance' of the box.

Once it was cleared away the tall skeleton peered inside. Sans tiny form was curled into a tight ball in the corner of the box, blanket wrapped around him. His face was flushed blue and his breathing was shallow and uneven.

Papyrus sucked in a sharp breath. The little monster was obviously in a bad way from spending the night outside in such harsh weather. With great care Papyrus reached into the box, first removing the blanket which was damp and frozen stiff from the rain, before gently lifting Sans from his cardboard home.

Next he removed his winter coat and making sure not to jostle the little one to much in the process, Papyrus wrapped Sans up like a little burrito. His reaction almost instant as the small small skeleton let out a small whimper of distress.

"Don't worry Sans everything will be alright." Papyrus cooed as he ran a hand over Sans tiny skull, He then about faced and began the long hike back home.

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The first thing Sans felt when he began to wake up was warmth. It seeped into every one of his bones like he was enveloped in a full body hug. Subconsciously he began to snuggle deeper into it, almost desperately craving it after being cold for so long.

Though as his mind became more and more conscious, the small skeleton became all to aware of the fact that he should not be warm. That he shouldn't be surrounded in something soft. Last thing Sans remembered was feeling numb as he had tried to huddle desperately against the freezing rain and then massive snow fall.

These thoughts alone were enough for the young monster to force himself to pry open his eyes, despite not wanting to. The first thing Sans noticed was the lack of sky, that he was inside. as he squinted against the bright daylight filtering in to the room.

He was laying on an old couch, head on a pillow and wrapped up snugly with at least three brightly colored fluffy blankets.

Looking around Sans didn't see anybody around, the living room looking fairly normal if not heavily decorated for the holidays. There was also a large colorful tree covered in twinkling lights, underneath which was a startlingly large number of presents. Sans couldn't help but look at it with aw.

Slowly he started to extract himself from under the mountain of blankets, only to find he was also wearing different clothes. His raggedy old stuff replaced with what looked to be a new blue and green stripped shirt, grey sweat pants and even fresh socks. He was unsure how to feel about any of this.

Sans couldn't help but look down at himself in confusion as he cautiously made his way to his feet. He didn't know where he was, how he got there or who would even do this.

A sudden noise off to his right made him jump in surprise, quickly turning he was met by the smiling form of Papyrus. He was standing in the entryway that Sans suspected lead to the kitchen.

"I'm so glad you're awake Sans." The tall skeleton beamed. "You had me worried for a bit there, when you slept through an entire day."

"An entire day..." The small monster questioned. "What happened?"

"Well..." Papyrus began "We had freezing rain and over two feet of snow. You had almost no protection in that cardboard box and became hypothermic. I was worried when I saw the weather and went looking for you..." he began wringing his hands together. "I do hope that you're not mad that I brought you back to my house. I couldn't exactly leave you out in the snow like that."

Sans took all that information in. Maybe a few weeks ago he might have been mad if somebody randomly took him home if he was unconscious. But this was Papyrus, who had been nothing but nice to him. He should really thank him...

"Papyrus?' The tall skeleton hmmed in acknowledgement. "Thank you..." Sans couldn't help the small blush that overtook his face. "...for helping me."

Papyrus couldn't help the big sincere smile that over took his face and in turn Sans couldn't help but smile back. "You are very welcome Sans. Also Merry Christmas!."

"Whaaa?"

"Well you slept through all Christmas Eve. But that is okay, you woke up just in time for breakfast and also your surprise!"

Sans face was that of pure confusion but Papyrus didn't seem to want to elaborate just yet and so the little skeleton just shrugged it off. But the mention of food didn't go unnoticed as his nonexistent stomach gave a growl. Sans gave a slight chuckle "So uh... what's for breakfast?"

Breakfast turned out to be chocolate chip pancakes sprinkled with sugar and a side glass of chocolate milk. Sans had never had anything so good and had to practically hold back tears of joy as he stuffed himself as much as he could. Papyrus of course just laughed and told him that there would be more, Sans didn't have to make himself sick from over eating.

When they were done and the kitchen cleaned up, Papyrus lead Sans back to the couch. He looked really nervous about something, as he fidgeted with his hands constantly.

"Sans..." He began hesitantly. "Over the past few weeks, I've had a lot of fun getting to know you. You're such a strong little kid, trying your best to live in this big old world. But I feel that you deserve so much more and I hoped that I could give you that..."

Papyrus gestured over to the tree. "All those presents under the tree. Those are all for you."

Sans eyes went wide in surprise as he took in the sheer number of presents crammed under the tree "For m-me?!" he stuttered out in shock.

The tall skeleton nodded happily. "Though your biggest surprise is down the hall."

With that Papyrus stood up and beckoned Sans to follow him. The small skeletons face was full of mixed emotions at what was happening but after only a few seconds hesitation did he jog after Papyrus.

They wound up stopping in front of a closed wooden door that was adorned with a small gold star and a bright red bow. On closer look Sans could see that his name had been written on the star in very clean handwriting. Papyrus was gesturing for him to open.

With apprehension the small skeleton reached for the knob and slowly pushed the door open. The sight that met Sans eyes was enough to freeze him in shock.

Inside was a wooden framed bed adorned with sheets covered in space shuttles, a night stand with a lamp, a telescope (which also had a bow) sitting by the large window and a book shelf crammed full of books. But what really caught Sans attention was the hand panted mural that covered the walls. A forest at sunset. A mixture of reds, oranges and purples that eventually faded into the dark swirling blues of the galaxy filled sky that covered the ceiling. Which was also dotted with plastic stars.

  
"They glow in the dark." Papyrus seemed to answer his unspoken question, turning off the light real quick for show them off before flicking it back on.

Sans turned his gaze to Papyrus, eyes so big with wonder. His pupils practically stars as he tried and failed to form words.

"This is all for you Sans." He smiled down at the babybones. "What do you say? Would you like to live here with me? We could be like brothers, I'd love for you to be able to make this place your forever home. You would never have to be cold or hungry again, this I can promise."

Sans couldn't stop the happy tears that started to run down his cheekbones. He began to nod, reaching out towards Papyrus who was on him in an instant. Picking the little skeleton up and hugging him for all he was worth.

"Yes..." he sniffled "I want to say."

This was the best Christmas Sans ever had.

**Author's Note:**

> Man I sure do like writing babybones stuff :T
> 
> If you are curious what's in that huge stack of gifts Papyrus got him under the tree. Well lots of clothes and space and joke books and of course a new fluffy blue parka. :3c Not to mention some puzzles because what skeleton wouldn't want a good puzzle X3


End file.
